Public notification system and method

ABSTRACT

A public notification system includes a first database comprising phone numbers and one or more data fields associated with each phone number. Phone numbers (callees) in the first database are selected based on the data fields associated therewith. A recorded voice message is transmitted to callees through a plurality of outgoing phone lines, and callees are prompted to enter one of several dial codes, which is recorded. The database record for the callee is automatically updated based on the response dial code, so that the updated field may be used to select whether to send a future call to the callee. A second database comprising records identifying convicted criminals is also included in the public notification system. Each record in the second database comprises one or more data fields associated with a convicted criminal. If the callee&#39;s dial code response indicates an interest in receiving information about convicted criminals, future calls will be made to the callee concerning the existence of convicted criminals in a particular geographic area of interest to the callee.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 08/262,923, filed Jun. 20, 1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,867.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to telecommunications systems, and, inparticular, to a system which initiates phone calls to phone numbers ina database and is interactive to thereby permit the callee to enterTOUCH TONE (DTMF, or dual tone multiple frequency) responses in responseto prompts from the system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Technological advances in telecommunications systems have automatedactivities that had required human intervention. For example, in U.S.Pat. No. 4,054,756, processing of special services calls, such asperson-to-person, collect, credit card and bill to third party calls,are automated to eliminate the need for a human operator to handle suchcalls. U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,807 discloses a system for transmitting audiomessages between parties, thereby eliminating the need for a humanreceptionist. In another example, the automated system of U.S. Pat. No.5,058,152 may serve as an intermediary between a subscriber to thesystem and the subscriber's potential customers, again eliminating theneed for the subscriber to employ a receptionist.

Advances in technology have also resulted in the use oftelecommunications systems for a myriad of purposes probably notcontemplated by Mr. Alexander Graham Bell. Telemarketing is one suchuse. A telemarketing system in which an operator can view the responseof the individuals called by the system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,160,125. In addition to telemarketing, callers are able to playinteractive games via the telephone interface game control systemdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,631. Goods and services can be marketedby telephone when using the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,071,698. Stock brokers can automatically notify their customers ofchanges in the market via the mass announcement systems disclosed inU.S. Pat. Nos. 4,554,418 and 4,942,616. Also, pre-recorded messages canbe transmitted in the announcement systems of U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,336.

Another attractive use of the telecommunications system is a masscommunication system for communicating important messages to the public.For example, it may be desirable to provide an automated system whichcan inform the public of an impending emergency or a disaster, or toprovide a public service message. For mass communication purposes, thesystem must retain a database containing the telephone numbers of thepublic to be serviced by the system. Also, since it is unlikely that allmembers of the public need to be provided with the informative message,a means must be provided, and data must be accessible, for selectingcertain criteria associated with the system's subscribers. For example,information about an impending emergency, such as a tornado warning,need only be transmitted to those in a particular locality. Therefore,emergency alert systems have been developed, such as the MINUTEMANpublic alert system offered by United Signal of America in Indianapolis,Ind., which allows one to select a particular geographic area to beinformed of an alert or emergency situation.

When selecting a geographical area, various methods are known in the artfor associating a telephone number with the corresponding location. Onesimple method involves associating the telephone number with apredetermined zone designated by an alphanumeric such as A-1 or B-2which corresponds to sections on a map. In the aforementioned MINUTEMANpublic alert system, X-Y coordinates are associated with each phonenumber in the system's database. The operator may prepare a map showinggeographic zones associated with each coordinate area.

One shortcoming of prior art systems using geographic zones selection asa criteria for determining to whom the message is to be sent occurs whenthe zone to be selected is of a size significantly different from thesize of the grid employed by the system. Though the MINUTEMAN systemdescribed above allows a grid size to be redefined, when operating in aninteractive mode, if a large geographical area is to be contacted by thesystem, prior art systems require the operator to enter a list of gridsto encompass a large enough area. The size of the grid in prior artsystems is therefore critical. To avoid encountering an unacceptabletime delay by entering such a list (for example, it may be imperativethat the message be communicated within a very short period of time dueto the nature of the message), the grids are likely to be sized to errby reaching those who need not be informed rather than risk theinability to reach anyone. Therefore, it is desirable to provide asystem providing greater flexibility to the system's operator for theselection of the Geographic Zone.

One of the shortcomings associated with many mass communicationannouncement systems such as public alert system is the inability of thepublic to control its participation in the service. Given the increasedfrequency for which the telephone is being used for telemarketing andsolicitations, many people are resistant to participate in an automatedservice over which they have no control, particularly if such a serviceis to be provided by an organization, such as the police department,which is funded, at least in part, by taxes they have paid in thecommunity. Thus, even though the service may be beneficial to thecommunity, an individual may wish not to participate or to limit itsparticipation. For example, the individual may only wish to participateduring certain times or days, or to only be informed of certainoccurrences. If, for example, the system is used by a law enforcementagency for informing the public of a recurring problem in the area, suchas the theft of children's bicycles, not every individual or residencein the designated geographical area are interested in receiving such amessage. There is also the possibility that the members of the householdmay wish to screen certain members of the residence from receiving suchcalls. A parent, for example, may not want the message to be transmittedto a six-year old child in the home. Therefore, it is desirable toprovide a mass communication announcement system which permits thepublic to individually control its level of participation in a serviceimplementing the system.

Recently, the U.S. government and various states have enacted lawsrequiring that convicted sex-offenders register with a law enforcementagency or government authority. Such laws include the federally enactedMegan's Law and Indiana's Zachary's Law, for example, which require thatthe offender make known his residence to a designated authority.Interested persons can generally inquire of the registering authoritywhether such an offender is in an area proximate the person's ownresidence or in areas where that person's children may frequent. Atpresent, however, the residences of offenders is not easily accessibleby the public, and, when available, the registration authority is oftenbothered with frequent requests for information which consumes theauthority's valuable personnel resources and ties up its communicationlines. These problems also detract from the authority's other dutieswhich is particularly of concern if many of the callers do not residenear such an offender and therefore did not need to receive anyinformation. Therefore, it is desired to provide a public notificationsystem and method for notifying the public for relevant informationabout the residences of convicted sex-offenders.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

One object of the invention is to provide a system that allows calleesto be selected for transmission of a prerecorded message based on thecallees response to a previously transmitted prerecorded message, and toautomatically update a callee database based on such a response.

Another object of the invention is to allow callees to be selected bytheir geographic location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of the automated phonecalling system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a computer generated screen of the Main Menu of oneembodiment of the automated calling system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a computer generated screen prompting the user for entry ofa password required to make calls with the system.

FIG. 4 shows a computer generated screen displayed to permit theoperator to select callees for a calling session.

FIG. 5 shows a computer generated screen displayed to permit theoperator to select callees for a calling session, and wherein theentries are viewed in description order rather than in list order as isshown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows a computer generated screen displaying the default messagefor the SITE SUPERVISOR Numbered List.

FIG. 7 shows a computer generated screen displaying a list of messagesthat may be executed or modified.

FIG. 8 shows a computer generated screen presenting the user with ascratch pad for entering a textual message.

FIG. 9 shows a computer generated screen indicating that a textualmessage written on the scratch pad has been saved.

FIG. 10 shows a computer generated screen prompting the operator tovoice record the message written on the scratch pad.

FIG. 11 shows a computer generated screen informing the operator thatvoice recordation of the message is complete.

FIG. 12 shows a computer generated screen similar to the screen of FIG.7, and indicating that the Example Message has now been recorded.

FIG. 13 shows a computer generated screen displayed in response todepressing the F6 key when viewing the screen of FIG. 12 indicating thatthe selected message is being played.

FIG. 14 shows a computer generated screen instructing the operator toreturn the telephone to the hook after a message has completed playing.

FIG. 15 shows a computer generated screen similar to that of FIG. 7wherein the operator has depressed the F8 key to copy a message.

FIG. 16 shows a computer generated screen informing the operator that anew message at line 319 has been created.

FIG. 17 shows a computer generated screen similar to that of FIG. 4indicating that the SITE SUPERVISOR Numbered List has been selected bythe operator.

FIG. 18 shows a computer generated screen showing which Numbered Listshave been selected by the operator.

FIG. 19 shows a computer generated screen displayed in response todepression of the F1 key when viewing the screen of FIG. 18 anddisplaying a list of messages that may be changed.

FIG. 20 shows a computer generated screen displayed in response todepression of the F3 key when FIG. 17 is displayed prompting theoperator to indicate which list entry is to be deleted.

FIG. 21 shows a computer generated screen similar to that of the screenFIG. 20 wherein the SITE SUPERVISOR Numbered List has been deleted.

FIG. 22 shows a computer generated screen similar to the screen of FIG.17 wherein the operator has depressed the F7 key to change the listpriority.

FIG. 23 shows a computer generated screen prompting the operator toenter the new priority for the Numbered List selected in FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 shows a computer generated screen similar to that of FIG. 22wherein the priority of FIRE BRIGADE has been changed from 1 to 2.

FIG. 25 shows a computer generated screen illustrating a sample screenfor selecting a Geographical Zone.

FIG. 26 shows a computer generated screen similar to the screen of FIG.25 wherein the F7 key has been depressed and the operator is prompted toenter the Zone to be changed.

FIG. 27 shows a computer generated screen presenting zone informationfor a particular calling session.

FIG. 28 shows a computer generated screen informing the operator of themessages to be sent during a particular calling session.

FIG. 29 shows a computer generated screen showing the call generationresults in response to depression of the F9 key while at the prompt inFIG. 28.

FIG. 30 shows a computer generated screen resulting from the depressionof the F9 key while viewing the screen of FIG. 29 and showing theactivity of the calling session.

FIG. 31 shows a computer generated screen prompting the operator toenter a password to begin or continue the calling session.

FIG. 32 shows a computer generated screen indicating the total number ofcalls queued as well as the designated number of the particular callingsession.

FIG. 33 shows a computer generated screen showing the Main Menu will theStop Calls line highlighted.

FIG. 34 shows a computer generated screen listing the calling sessioncurrently in progress, and resulting from selection of the Stop Callsfunction in FIG. 33.

FIG. 35 shows a computer generated screen showing the status of acalling session selected in FIG. 34 to be canceled.

FIG. 36 shows a computer generated screen like that of FIG. 34, butwherein calling session 17 has been canceled.

FIG. 37 shows a computer generated screen showing the Main Menu with theCalling Log line highlighted.

FIG. 38 shows a computer generated screen resulting from selection ofthe Calling Log function in FIG. 37, and prompting the operator toselect one of the displayed Calling Log function options.

FIG. 39 shows a computer generated screen displayed in response to thedepression of the F1 key while FIG. 38 is displayed and showing thecurrent status of the calling session selected.

FIG. 40 shows a computer generated screen similar to the screen of FIG.38 in which calling session 6 has been selected to be displayed orprinted.

FIG. 41 shows a computer generated screen resulting from the depressionof F2 while viewing FIG. 40 which displays the report for callingsession 6.

FIG. 42 shows a computer generated screen resulting from the depressionof the F4 key while viewing FIG. 40 and which prompts the operator tobegin printing calling session 6.

FIG. 43 shows a computer generated screen like that of FIG. 42 informingthe operator that printing of the report is in progress in response todepression of the F1 key while viewing FIG. 42.

FIG. 44 shows a computer generated screen resulting from selection ofthe Change Criteria option from the Geo/List menu of FIG. 2.

FIG. 45 shows a computer generated screen like the screen of FIG. 44wherein the operator has tabbed to the Criteria # Description column.

FIG. 46 shows a computer generated screen displayed in response todepression of the F1 key while viewing FIG. 45 and showing the callingsession selected.

FIG. 47 shows a computer generated screen like that of FIG. 45 andwarning the operator that criteria changes will result in permanentchanges to the database.

FIG. 48 shows a computer generated screen displayed in response todepressing Enter while viewing the screen of FIG. 47.

FIG. 49 shows a geographic area map which may be used to specify calleesto whom to place a call to transmit a prerecorded message.

FIG. 50 shows a data record containing representative data fields usedin the database according to the present invention.

FIG. 51 shows a flow chart of one embodiment of the method of thepresent invention used to inform callees of pertinent data regardingsex-offenders.

FIG. 52 shows a flow chart of a second embodiment of the method of thepresent invention for notifying callees of pertinent data regardingsex-offenders.

FIG. 53 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of the publicnotification system of the present invention containing informationabout sex-offenders.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the public notification system of the present inventionincludes a database comprising phone numbers and one or more data fieldsassociated with each phone number. Phone numbers (callees) in thedatabase may be selected based on the data fields associated therewith.A recorded voice message is transmitted to callees through a pluralityof outgoing phone lines, and callees are prompted to enter one ofseveral TOUCH TONE codes, which is recorded. The database record for thecallee is automatically updated based on the TOUCH TONE response code,so that the updated field may be used to select whether to send a futurecall to the callee.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of oneembodiment of the automated phone calling system of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, the automated phone calling systemincludes hardware/software interface 50, user input and display 51,system or "local" telephone 52, telecommunications interfaces 53-56,database 57, temporary file 58, and map 59. The system may comprise acomputer having an ISA, or other, bus and a plurality of plug-in phonecards as telecommunications interfaces 53-56. Database 57, temporaryfile 58, and map 59 may reside on magnetic media, such as a hard disc,or for the map, CD ROM, for example. Map 59 may also be a physical hardcopy of a map having grid coordinates written thereon, rather thanresiding on magnetic media. When a hard copy map is employed, theoperator will be required to input desired coordinates by keyboard, forexample, rather than selecting the coordinates by other means, such asgraphical means, on the computer. User input and display 51 may comprisea keyboard and monitor and/or printer connected to the personalcomputer.

User input and display 51 is in bidirectional communication withhardware/software interface 50. In this manner, the operator may provideinput to hardware/software interface 50, hardware/software interface 50may make inquires of the operator, and reports created byhardware/software interface 50 may be presented to the operator.

"Local" telephone 52 is also in bidirectional communication withhardware/software interface 50. As described herein, "local" telephone52 is used by hardware/software interface 50 to record voice messagesused by the system and to play recorded voice messages to the operatorfor verification purposes. In this embodiment, "local" telephonecomprises a TOUCH TONE telephone having a telephone access number whichis known by hardware/software interface. The TOUCH TONE capability isutilized on "local" telephone 52 to provide the operator with thecapability to respond to inquires by hardware/software interface 50. Itwill be appreciated that other means well known in the art may be usedfor recording and playing messages and providing responses to inquiresof hardware/software system 50. For example, interactive microphone andspeaker accessories for personal computers are available which could beutilized in lieu of "local" telephone 52. An advantage is present,however, in using a TOUCH TONE telephone for voice recordation andverification. Specifically, the operator and software use the samemechanisms for these functions as is used by the system in contactingcallees, playing the voice message to the callee, and recording theanswers of callees.

Database 57 contains telephone numbers for potential callees as well asseveral other data fields associated with that telephone number.Representative record layouts for database 57 are shown in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/262,923, which is incorporated herein byreference, and in FIG. 50. Because the system of the present inventionis able to access callees based on the selection of a Numbered List ofcallees or on the Geographical Zone of callees in the embodiment of thesystem described below, these additional data fields may comprise theidentifiers of the Numbered Lists to which that telephone number(callee) belongs as well as an indication of the geographical locationof the telephone number.

As is described in further detail herein, database 57 is inbidirectional communication with hardware/software interface 50. Notonly is hardware/software system 50 able to read the information storedin database 57, data fields in database 57 may be modified byhardware/software interface 50. The ability of the system to modifydatabase 57 is not limited to configuration, set-up, or modification ofdatabase 57 by an operator interfacing with hardware/software interface50 through user interface input and display 51. Rather, database 57 maybe updated based on responses received from callees interacting with thesystem via telecommunications interfaces 53-56. In this manner, thecallee may have control over future calls it may receive from thesystem.

For example, if a callee's record in database 57 contains data field(s)representative of the acceptable times at which the callee may becontacted and hardware/software interface 50 is programmed to onlyinitiate calls to the callee during the specified hours, the system maypermit the callee to indicate a different time from that stored indatabase 57. By updating the appropriate data fields in database 57, thecallee has had an influence over future calls it may receive from thesystem.

As another example, if a callee's record in database 57 contains datafield(s) representative of a geographical area over which the callee isinterested in acquiring information about sex-offenders residing in thatarea, hardware/software interface 50 is programmed to only initiatecalls to that callee when offenders enter into, reside in, or move outof that geographical area. However, the system permits the callee toeffectively change the geographical area data field(s) stored indatabase 57, thereby providing the callee with the ability to controlthe system, at least with respect to calls made by the system to thecallee with sex-offender information.

Temporary file 58 is used by hardware/software interface 50 to storetemporary information required for initiating calling sessions. Suchtemporary information will be better understood by materials presentedherein as to the operation of the automated phone calling system of thepresent invention.

It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that database 57 andtemporary file 58 are likely to be stored on non-permanent, i.e.,writable, media such as hard disk, diskette, or magnetic tape. Map 59,however, is more apt to be unchanged over long periods of time.Therefore, though non-permanent media may be used for storage of map 59,permanent media, such as CD ROM, may be desirable.

Telecommunications interfaces 53-56 are bidirectionally connected to atelecommunications network. Calls are made to callees throughtelecommunications interfaces 53-56 to the telecommunications network.Also, telecommunications interfaces 53-56 accept input, such as TOUCHTONE input, provided by callees in response to inquiries made by thesystem.

Hardware/software interface 50 provides a multiplicity of functionswhich are described in greater detail herein. Briefly, hardware/softwareinterface 50 provides a means for selecting one or more subsets oftelephone numbers stored in database 57 based on data fields associatedwith the telephone numbers. Hardware/software interface 50 also providesa means for recording a voice message provided through "local" telephone52, and provides a means for initiating telephone calls to calleesthrough telecommunications interfaces 53-56. In addition,hardware/software interface 50 is capable of prompting the callee forentry of a TOUCH TONE response code and recording a TOUCH TONE responsecode entered by a callee. Further, hardware/software interface 50 iscapable of updating at least one data field in database 57 for a calleebased on the TOUCH TONE response of that callee.

Establishing, Initiating, Stopping and Logging a Call Session

To provide an understanding of the operation of the present invention,immediately following herein is a description of one embodiment of asoftware interface program operating in accordance with the presentinvention. Software source code and Record Layouts for this embodimentare presented in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/262,923. Recordlayouts for this embodiment are also presented in FIG. 50. Referring nowto FIG. 2, there is shown a Main Menu screen presented to the user inthe database interface software. On the Main Menu, there are severalfunctions provided to the user. Specifically, the functions of Geo/ListCalling, Bulletin Board, Scheduled Calling, System Maint. (maintenance),and Exit are provided. The discussion immediately following focuses onthe functions made available under the Geo/List Calling Main Menuoption. In particular, the Make Calls, Stop Calls, and Calling Logfunctions are discussed in detail. The Make Calls function under theGeo/List Calling Main Menu option allows the operator to select calleesfor a particular calling session and to initiate a calling session. StopCalls allows the operator to stop calls in the process of being made,and Calling Log allows the operator to obtain a log of calls made.

To initiate a calling session, the operator highlights the Make Callsselection and presses the ENTER key. If a password is required for theparticular selection made, as would most likely be required forinitiating calls, the screen illustrated in FIG. 3 is displayed. Inresponse to the prompt of the screen of FIG. 3, the operator is requiredto input a valid password to continue to initiate calls, for example. Ifthe operator depresses the ESC (escape) key, the software will return tothe previous screen of FIG. 2.

Throughout the operation of the software described herein, the ESC keymay be depressed to return to the previous screen. Upon depression ofthe ESC key, the current action will be canceled without making anychanges to the database. If the operator resides lower in the hierarchyof the software, continued depression of the ESC key will eventuallytake the operator to the Main Menu shown in FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a screen displayed to select thecallees for a calling session. At this point, the operator is allowed toselect two methods for selecting callees. The operator may select up toten Numbered Lists of telephone numbers to be called, or by depressingthe F9 key when the screen of FIG. 4 is displayed, the operator mayselect a Geographical Zone representative of a group of callees bygeographical location and other optional criteria, to be called. Theselection of Geographical Zone is described in further detail herein inassociation with FIGS. 25-27.

A Numbered List is simply a list of specific people to be called, suchas members of a local volunteer fire department. These people maytypically share a common responsibility or task. To select a NumberedList, the operator simply uses the arrow keys to highlight theappropriate list (the double greater than sign (">>") indicates theparticular entry to be selected) and then depresses the F1 key toinitiate selection of the list. In the screen of FIG. 4, the SITESUPERVISOR Numbered List has been selected by the operator. The operatormay also use the page up (PGUP) and page down (PGDN) keys to view listson a different page. By default, the entries are in a list number order.The operator may view the entries in the description order by depressingthe F6 key. FIG. 5, for example, shows the description order number listfor the screen shown in FIG. 4.

If the F1 key is depressed in response to the displays of FIG. 4 or FIG.5 with the cursor set at the field SITE SUPERVISOR, the screen in FIG. 6results. The default message for this list, i.e., for the SITESUPERVISOR Numbered List, is already highlighted. If this message isappropriate, the operator can select it by depressing the F1 key. Ifnot, the operator has three other choices. The operator may selectanother message by using the arrow, PGUP, and PGDN keys to highlightanother message. The operator may also modify an existing message orcreate a new one.

To create or modify the description for a message, the operator firsthighlights the appropriate message line to be executed or modified andpresses the F2 key. In the screen of FIG. 7, the cursor is highlightingthe EXAMPLE MESSAGE. Therefore, depression of the F2 indicates that thedescription EXAMPLE MESSAGE is to be created or modified. Aftermodifying the description of the message, depression of the ENTER keyindicates that the entry of a new description is complete.

If the F3 key is depressed while on the screen of FIG. 7, a scratch padscreen, such as that illustrated in FIG. 8, is displayed. The screen ofFIG. 8 allows the operator to finalize the textual message beforeactually recording the message. It will be appreciated that it is mucheasier and more efficient to record a message by reading a script,rather than reciting the message from memory. Therefore, the scratch padprovides up to 15 lines of 75 characters for each message. The operatormay leave blank lines on the scratch pad screen of FIG. 8 for improvedreadability. To insert a blank line, the operator simply places thecursor at the line where a blank line is to be inserted and presses theF3 key. The remaining lines on the screen will move down one line andthe highlighted line will be blank. If the 15th line exists, the systemwill provide the operator with an audible tone, without adding a blankline. The operator may correct the situation if indeed additionalinformation is to be added to the message by respacing or rewording thetext of the first 15 lines.

The operator may also delete a line of text by depressing the F4 key.This will remove the remaining lines up one line and make the 15th lineblank. Throughout creation of the message, the operator may press theESC key to ignore any modifications or deletions immediately made priorto such depression.

The operator may save the changes made to the message on the scratch padof FIG. 8. Upon depression of the F2 key while at the screen of FIG. 8,a message window, as illustrated in FIG. 9, appears to assure theoperator that changes have been saved. At this point, the textualmessage is now recorded. The operator may depress the ENTER key toreturn to the previous screen of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 shows the scratch padscreen of FIG. 8 after a textual message has been saved.

At this point, the operator may wish to voice record the textual messagecomposed. Depression of the F4 key initiates the recording process. Upondepression of the F4 key, the system telephones the phone "local" to thephone 52 in the embodiment of FIG. 1. The operator should answer thetelephone. From this point, recording the message is very similar toleaving the message on an answering machine. A voice prompts theoperator to record the message at the completion of a tone. The operatormay then read the message at the bottom part of the screen displayed onFIG. 10. Once the voice message is recorded, the operator may press the3 key on the telephone pad or wait for the response message. The systemwill then respond with "Thank you for your time" to indicate therecording is complete. A message is displayed on the screen, asillustrated in FIG. 11, to show that the recording is complete. Themessage length is also displayed in seconds. To return the previousscreen, the operator simply depresses the ENTER key.

In addition to entering a recorded message, the software interfacesystem allows the operator to require that the callee respond to thetelephone call. For example, the operator may invoke an option torequire the callee to depress the 5 key on the telephone pad as aresponse that the callee has received the message. Such a response bythe callee, or lack of response, will be recorded for reporting servicepurposes in the database. For the operator to add the option to requiresuch a response, the operator should depress the F5 key at the screen ofFIG. 12. Toggling the F5 key causes the YES/NO response listed on theright hand side of the screen for the particular message highlighted totoggle between YES and NO.

The final step in modifying the created main message is for the operatorto listen to the message recorded. This gives the operator first handexperience of what the callee will hear and be asked to do. To listen tothe message recorded, the operator depresses the F6 key when on thescreen of FIG. 12. The screen of FIG. 13 is then displayed showing thetextual script of the message. The system then telephones the phoneconnected to the system. The operator simply needs to answer thetelephone. At that point, the recorded voice message will be played and,if requested, the operator, like a callee, will be asked to make aresponse by depressing the 5 key on the telephone.

Once the message has completed playing, a message is added to the screenof FIG. 13 to show that the operator should return the telephone to thehook and depress ENTER. This is illustrated in FIG. 14. By depressingENTER, the operator will be returned to the screen of FIG. 7.

The operator may also delete a message, and the accompanying textualmessage stored. To delete a message, the operator simply shouldhighlight the appropriate message and depress the F7 key while viewingthe screen of FIG. 7. The message line will now be blank.

The operator may also copy a message from one message line to another.To copy a message, simply highlight the message to be copied and depressthe F8 key while viewing the screen of FIG. 7. A window pops up, asshown in FIG. 15, prompting the operator for the destination messageline number highlighted. In this example, message number 308 is beingcopied to message line 319. Depression of the ESC key allows theoperator to avoid copying the message. If the correct destination numberhas been input, the operator simply depresses the ENTER key. Thepresence of a new message at line 319 is illustrated in FIG. 16. Notethat the message length for this message is 0 and the valid message flagis NO. When a message is copied from one line to another, the operatormust rerecord the voice message. The copy function only copies thedescription and the textual message, but not the voice message itself.

The screen shown in FIG. 17, is similar to that of FIG. 4, with theexception of the fact that the Numbered List SITE SUPERVISOR has beenselected and is so indicated under the Entry List at the type of thescreen selected. Once the operator has selected the necessary list orlists according to the procedure described herein, the operator mayalter each selection. The operator may also change the message to beused or alter the priority of the calls for that list. Such flexibilityeliminates having to delete and reselect a Numbered List. If theoperator need not modify the individual Numbered List, depression of theF9 key allows the operator to continue to select Geographical Zone to becalled.

FIG. 18 shows that four Numbered Lists have been selected, namely SITESUPERVISOR, KEY STAFF MEMBERS, FIRE BRIGADE, and DAILY TEST CALL. Tochange a message for any one of the lists, the operator simply depressesthe F2 key. A pop-up window appears, as shown in FIG. 18, and promptsthe operator for the number of the list entry to be changed. Afterentering the number, the operator may change the message for theNumbered List. As before, depression of the ESC key allows the operatorto exit the changed message prompt and make no changes to the entry.

If the operator opts to change a message for an entry by depressing theF1 key at the CHANGE MESSAGE prompt shown in FIG. 18, the screen of FIG.19 is displayed. The options presented as when creating or modifying amessage (see FIG. 7) are available for modifying a message. In fact, asimilar procedure as described in association with FIGS. 7-14 is used tochange an entry list message.

When the screen of FIG. 17 is displayed, the operator may also delete aNumbered List from the calling session by depressing the F3 key.Depression of the F3 key displays the screen illustrated in FIG. 20having a pop-up prompt asking the operator to enter the number to bedeleted. The operator may enter a number to be deleted and then depressthe F1 key to delete the entry, or press the ESC to exit. If, the entryto be deleted is entry 1 in that of FIG. 20, i.e. SITE SUPERVISOR, andthe F1 key is depressed, the screen illustrated in FIG. 21 is displayed.Note that the list number one for SITE SUPERVISOR as shown in FIG. 20 isnot displayed in FIG. 21. It is important to note that deleting aNumbered List from a calling session does not delete the Numbered Listfrom the system. Deletion of an entry is simply a way of unselecting aselected list for the particular calling session.

Returning to FIG. 17, it is also possible to change the calling priorityof a selected list for this calling session only. Depression of the F7key allows one to change the list priority. A pop-up window, such asthat shown in FIG. 22, is displayed to prompt the operator for thenumber of the entry to change. Consistent with other operations, tochange the priority, the entry number is entered and the F1 key isdepressed. Depression of the ESC key allows the operator to returnwithout making a change to the list priority. If the F1 key isdepressed, as illustrated in FIG. 23, the operator will be prompted toenter the new priority, i.e., priority 1, 2 or 3, for the Numbered Listand to depress the F1 key to update the priority, or press the ESC keyto return to the previous screen. The operator may also depress the F2key to change this message. The options discussed before when creatingand modifying a message are available when the F2 key is depressed tochange the message.

After changing the priority of the selected list, the screen of FIG. 24is displayed. Comparing the screen of FIG. 22 to the screen of FIG. 24,the list number 8, FIRE BRIGADE, was changed to a priority of 2. Notethat the changing of the priority of a selected list does not change thedefault calling priority for that Numbered List. It only affects thelist priority for the particular calling session.

Once the operator has completed selecting the Numbered List to call andthe priorities associated therewith, depression of the F9 key while atthe screen of FIG. 7 allows the operator to select Geographical Zones.Therefore, both Numbered Lists and Geographical Zones may be selectedfor a particular calling session. In one embodiment of the invention, aGeographic Zone includes a subset of all potential callees in apredetermined geographic area. The criteria for selecting a particularsubset may be specified by flagging fields associated with each callee.

FIG. 25 shows a sample screen for selecting Geographical Zone (Geo). Upto 10 specific Geo Zones may be selected by the operator. The operatorneed not enter all Numbered Lists before selecting Geographical Zone,and vice versa. The software allows selection of Numbered Lists as wellas selection of Geo Zones. The operator may switch to the other type ofcall designation by depression of the F8 or F9 key, appropriately, whenin either the select Zones or select Numbered Lists screens.

A Geo Zone is a name for a group of callees in the database that meetspecified criteria. In one embodiment, a Geo Zone may be established byspecifying coordinates associated with a map and specifying criteriaassociated with each record in the phone callee database. For example,as shown in FIG. 49, the top or X axis is red and contains horizontalcoordinates 0-6, while the side or Y axis is green and specifiesvertical coordinates 0-5. A Geo Zone may be specified as shown in FIG.27 by specifying the upper left and lower right corners of a rectangle.For example, in FIG. 49, the coordinates for a northwest quadrant of themap would be Red: 0, Green: 0; and Red: 3, Green: 2. The coordinates fora Geo Zone which initially qualifies all callees in the database to beincluded (subject to subsequently specifying selection criteria) wouldbe Red: 0, Green: 0; and Red 6, Green 5.

In one embodiment, the phone number database stores geographicinformation for each callee (phone number) by longitude and latitude,and each such longitude and latitude may be unique for each calleedatabase record. The longitude and latitude may be initially establishedby visiting each address and obtaining the longitude and latitude from acommercially available global positioning system satellite receiver.Alternatively, the longitude and latitude could be obtained by inputtinga database of the streets and addresses for the geographic area ofinterest into a computer, along with a reference longitude and latitudeand scaling information, and automatically associating a longitude andlatitude for each address. However, the latter alternative will likelyrequire a manual confirmation of each automatically assigned preliminarylongitude and latitude due to the difficulty in perfecting a softwareprogram for generating such information automatically. However, theinvention in its broadest scope does not require geographic informationfor each callee to be generated automatically, or to be stored in alongitude-latitude format.

Geo Zones may be established by other criteria as well. For example,since telephone exchange numbers within an area code are generallyrepresentative of a geographic location, telephone exchange numbers mayserve as a Geo Zone. Similarly, the actual address, either streetaddress or city, for example, may also be used to establish a Geo Zone.

In one embodiment of the invention, once a geographic area is defined,callees within the area may be added by specifying criteria to createthe formal Geo Zone. For example, a field may be associated with eachphone number (callee) record indicating whether the phone number is fora business or a residence. Assuming that every phone number is either abusiness or a residence, selecting both these criteria would result inevery callee in the geographic area being included in the Geo Zone.Other examples of filter fields that may be associated with calleerecord include whether the callee has previously indicated a desire toparticipate in the automated calling system, the preferred time of dayto place an automated call, whether children reside at the callee'saddress, or whether the callee has previously expressed a desire to beinformed of public zoning hearing for land near the callees location.Most important to the present invention, a criteria may be based on aTOUCH TONE keypad response the callee has made during a prior automatedcalling session that included the callee. In this sense, the term GeoZone is a somewhat of a misnomer because callees within a Geo Zone maybe selected based on criteria in addition to their geographic location.

When a Geo Zone is selected, the system will identify all calleesresiding in that area and call them with the message chosen. At thebottom of the screen shown in FIG. 25 is a list of available Geo Zonesto select. The selection of Geo Zones is accomplished in a mannersimilar to that used for Numbered Lists. The operator may use the PGUPand PGDN keys to display additional pages, and may use the arrow keys tomove among the displayed list of Geo Zones. The operator may change theorder of display of the Geo Zones by toggling the F6 key which willalternately display Geo Zone number order and the description order forGeo Zones. In the screen of FIG. 25, the F1 key was depressed to selectZone 1, NORTH-WEST OF PLANT, and the default message for the zoneNORTH-WEST OF PLANT was chosen.

The selection process for selecting Geo Zones is essentially identicalto the selection of Numbered Lists described herein above. Once theappropriate Zones have been selected, the message may be changed for aparticular calling session. The Zone may be deleted from the callingsession, or the operator may change the Zone to be called. The functions"change messages" and "delete entry" presented in FIG. 25 areessentially identical to the counterparts for selecting Numbered Lists.

To change a Geo Zone entry, the operator should depress the F7 key whileresiding at FIG. 25. The pop-up window illustrated in FIG. 26 promptingthe operator to enter the Zone to be changed is displayed. Depression ofthe ESC key will not change the Zone whereas depression of the F1 keywill change the Zone entry made.

If the F1 key is depressed while viewing the screen of FIG. 26, thescreen illustrated in FIG. 27 is shown. The screen presents informationto allow the operator to change the Geo Zone for this particular callingsession only. The operator may change the message to be used, theunlisted flag, the boundaries of the Zone itself, and the criteria forincluding people (callees) in the Zone. In the embodiment shown in FIG.27, there are 39 calling criteria for each phone number record which maybe used. However, only the first three have been defined. In addition,as shown by lines 1 and 2 in FIG. 27, the user has specified that bothbusiness and residential callees should be included, as indicated by the"I" following the 1 and the 2. If every callee is defined to be either abusiness or residence, this will select every callee in the specifiedgeographic area. Obviously, caution should be exercised in changingthese parameters as it can make quite an impact on the calling session.If the operator is certain of the changes entered, the F1 key may bedepressed to update the Zone's parameters for the calling session.Otherwise, depression of the ESC key allows the operator to leave thisscreen without changing the selected Zone's parameters. Again, changingthe Zone's parameters for the calling session does not change thedefault parameters for this Zone. Such changes only affect the Zone'sparameters for this particular calling session.

Once the necessary Zones have been selected, the operator may depressthe F9 key to accept all Numbered Lists and Geo Zones entered. Upondepression of the F9 (accept) key, the screen illustrated in FIG. 28will be displayed. This screen displays all messages to be used in thecalling session. The presentation of the screen provides the operatorwith an opportunity to modify and/or change the messages for the callingsession. If the operator is satisfied with the messages displayed inFIG. 28, depression of the F9 key allows the operator to continue.Otherwise, depression of the ESC key allows the operator to return tothe select Geo Zone screens illustrated in FIG. 25.

Depression of the F9 key at the prompt in FIG. 28, results in display ofthe call generation result screen of FIG. 29. The call generation screendisplays the Lists and/or Zones to be called, the respective messages tobe used for each List and/or Zone, and the number of calls to be madefor each List/Zone. If this information is correct, depression of the F9key allows the operator to continue to the next screen and accept alldata for the calling session. Again, depressing the ESC key returns theoperator to the select Geo Zones screens.

Depression of the F9 screen from FIG. 29 results in the display of thescreen of FIG. 30. At this screen, the operator may actually begin thecalling session. The operator may change the calling level (useful for"grabbing" more lines), or the number of call retries to be made inreaching the callees. If everything is as satisfactory, the operatorsimply depresses the F1 key to process the calling session. At thispoint, passwords may be required. If so, the pop-up screen illustratedin FIG. 31 is displayed. As in the password screen of FIG. 3, theoperator simply enters the password and depresses the ENTER key tocontinue. No calls will be initiated unless the proper password isentered.

FIG. 32 shows a screen indicating the total number of calls queued, aswell as the designated number of the particular calling session. Thenumber of the particular calling session is used to identify the callingsession for all future operations. Thus, the operator should note thenumber. At this point, the database system is in the act of calling thecallees selected by Numbered Lists and/or Geo Zones.

When instructed to call the callees in the Geo Zone, the software of oneembodiment copies information from database 57 to temporary file 58.File 58 contains essential information regarding each call, as shown inthe record layouts in the appendix. Accordingly, information such aswhether an attempt to call the callee has been made, the date and timeof each attempted call, and any keystroke responses to questions may berecorded in temporary file 58.

It is possible for the operator to ascertain the progress of aparticular calling session. To do so requires either going to the startcall-stop call menu or using the calling log as described herein. Recallthat at the Main Menu shown in FIG. 2, an option provided to theoperator under the Geo/List Calling menu is Stop Calls. This option isselected by simply highlighting the Stop Calls line (see FIG. 33) andpressing the ENTER key. Upon selection of the Stop Calls function, thescreen illustrated in FIG. 34 is shown. Information is provided to allowthe operator to select a particular calling session to complete or tocancel. This feature may be useful, for example, whenever a situation orcrisis has resolved itself before all callees have been called. Theinformation displayed in FIG. 34 is also useful for viewing the summarylevel progress of a particular calling session. The total number ofcalls, the number of completed calls, and the percentage of completionfor a given calling session is displayed in FIG. 34. The arrow keys aswell as the PGUP and PGDN may be used to display the desired callingsession and to check its progress. To complete a finished callingsession, i.e., a session which is 100% completed as indicated on thescreen, depress the F1 key. Depression of the F1 key updates thereporting files and marks the session as called.

To cancel a calling session in progress, the operator also depresses theF1 key. Depression of the F1 key in this instance first completes allcalls that are immediately being made, not calls that are yet to bemade. This assures that callees with whom connection may have been madewill not be disconnected. Secondly, it cancels all calls that have notyet been made and marks the session as called. In the example thatfollows, calling session number 17 was selected with the F1 key. Theintention here is to cancel the session before it is queued into thesystem. Note that calling session number 17 is second to the completionof session 16.

After depressing the F1 key in FIG. 34, the screen shown in FIG. 35 isdisplayed. This screen shows the status after the calling session hasbeen canceled. Note that the total number of calls, the total number ofcalls completed, and the percentage of completion are displayed. Afterthis screen has been viewed by the operator, depression of the ENTER keyreturns the operator to a screen similar to that shown in FIG. 34,namely, the screen of FIG. 36 is displayed. Because calling session 17has been canceled, it is no longer displayed in the list of callingsessions.

In the Main Menu, a third option under the Geo/List Calling Main Menuitem is Calling Log (see FIG. 37). Calling Log allows the user to eitherdisplay or to print a report of the log called during a specific callingsession. The option can be used both when a calling session is inprogress as well as after it has been completed. The data used forreporting is generally not completely up-to-date until the session hasbeen both completed and stopped. It may take some period of time fromthe completion of the last call to bring the data up-to-date.

If the Calling Log function of the Geo/List Calling Main Menu item isselected, the screen illustrated in FIG. 38 is displayed. The promptscreen of FIG. 38 allows the user to select a particular session todisplay or print. Note that the calling session number, the date, andthe time are all displayed for the operators convenience. The lastsession will be the default session to be displayed. To see a list ofsessions from which to select, the operator should depress the F1 key.Depression of the F1 key displays the screen shown in FIG. 39. Thisscreen shows the calling session selection list. Certain descriptiveinformation is displayed to help the operator select a calling sessionto display or print. The arrow, PGUP and PGDN keys may be used to movewithin the list of calling sessions. If the operator desires not toselect a calling session, the ESC key may be depressed. The ability tolist calling sessions may be helpful when the operator only wants toreview the descriptive information for a particular calling session. Toselect a calling session for reporting, the F1 key is depressed. In theexample screen of FIG. 39, calling session number 6 is chosen.

Upon depression of the F1 key in FIG. 39 with session number 6 chosen,the screen of FIG. 38 is updated to be the screen of FIG. 40 showingsession number 6 as the calling session to be displayed or printed. Todisplay the report results, the operator depresses the F2 key. To printthe report, the F4 key should be depressed.

Upon depression of the F2 key to display the report of session 6, thescreen in FIG. 41 is displayed. The calling log provides the operatorwith detailed information for each call of a particular calling session.This report provides feedback of how successful the calling session wasor is. If callees did not receive the message, or if they did not givethe required response, it will be clearly visible on the screen displayof FIG. 41. At that point, the operator may choose to validate aparticular callee's telephone number, or contact them personally. As inthe displays of many of the lists presented throughout the softwaresystem, the PGDN and PGUP keys may be used to display different pages ofthe report.

When the operator has completed reviewing the report, depression of theESC key returns to the previous screen, i.e. the screen of FIG. 40. Ifwhile viewing the screen of FIG. 40 the operator depresses the F4 key toprint the results, a pop-up window as illustrated in FIG. 42 is providedto the operator. In the log print-out, the operator has a few options,namely, whether to provide Geo Zone and List detail; whether to includeall calls, delivered calls, or non-delivered calls; and whether toinclude the specific responses received from the callees. Once theappropriate information has been entered, the ESC key allows theoperator to exit without printing the report, while depression of the F2key prints the report for the calling session selected. While printing,a prompt will be shown showing that printing is in progress, asillustrated in FIG. 43.

Selection of Geographical Zones

It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that selection ofthe Geographical Zones according to the embodiment set forth in theforegoing description may be based on a variety of criteria. In theembodiment presented in FIG. 1, X and Y coordinates are provided indatabase 57 for each telephone number and the X and Y coordinates areunique for each telephone number located at a different address. As aresult, there is no limitation to the size of the geographical area tobe contacted by the system of the present invention. The geographicalarea may range from the very small to the very large.

In the embodiment described above, each Geo Zone is defined byidentifying two opposing corners of a rectangular area. For eachtelephone number to have unique X,Y coordinates necessitates that a verysmall grid (resolution) be employed. Therefore, it is impractical toselect the area by listing blocks of geographical areas. The selectionof opposing corners eliminates the need to list a series of blocks as isdone in the prior art and also permits the selection of very smallgeographical areas not accessible within prior art systems.

A number of means may be used to assist the user in determining theboundaries of the geographical zone to which calls are to be initiated.For example, a hard copy map may be provided, or a computer basedmapping system may be used. Regardless of the means, for automated phonecalling systems of the present invention whose messages must betransmitted in a time critical manner, the means should be conducive toquick determination of the geographical boundaries.

Updating the System's Database

Returning now to FIG. 1, the general operation of the automated phonecalling system of the present invention is discussed herein withparticular emphasis on ability to allow callees to respond to inquiriesthat will affect their reception of future calls by the system. Asdescribed above, the operator sets up the calling session through userinput and display 51. In one embodiment, temporary information is storedin temporary file 58 upon completion of the set up operation andinitiation of a call session. Temporary file 58 contains the datarecords for callees selected for a call session. In this manner, thenecessary fields from each selected record of database 57 are copied totemporary file 58 so that database 57 is not corrupted in the event ofan unforeseen event, such as a power outage. Further, though automaticupdating of database 57 is possible with the automated phone callingsystem of the present invention, there may be instances in which it isdesirable to require that the responses of the callees be viewed by anoperator prior to permanently updating the contents of database 57.

It will be appreciated that it is plausible to provide an automatedphone calling system according to the present invention which does notuse temporary file 58. However, as previously stated, use of temporaryfile 58 may be advantageous in reducing the possibility that database 57becomes corrupted and may also be used as a buffer for verifying theresponses of a callee prior to permanently changing database 57.

Returning to the operation of the system of the present invention,hardware/software interface 50 initiates calls to each of the calleesover telecommunications interfaces 53-56. Calls are queued according toand depending upon the number of callees to be contacted and the numberof telecommunications lines provided by telecommunications interfaces53-56. For each call initiated, hardware/software interface 50 monitorsthe telecommunications line for connection with the callee and forreceipt of a voice signal which hardware/software interface 50 assumesto indicate that a person has answered the telephone call it initiated.At this point, the message to be provided the callee is retrieved andtransmitted over the appropriate telecommunications interface 53-56.

If the message is not one which requires input from the callee,hardware/software interface monitors the appropriate telecommunicationsline to ascertain whether the complete message was provided to thecallee. In this manner, should it be desired that the callee be recalledin the event of an interruption of communication, hardware/softwareinterface 50 may store a store/no store flag for use in retrying toprovide the message to that callee.

If the message transmitted anticipates that the callee will provideTOUCH TONE input in response to an inquiry made of the callee,hardware/software interface 50 monitors the telecommunications line fora response and records the TOUCH TONE response made. If appropriate,hardware/software interface 50 modifies the appropriate data field oftemporary file 58 for later permanent modification in database 57.Alternatively, hardware/software interface 50 may directly modify theappropriate data field in database 57. If temporary file 58 is used torecord the modification of a data field, database 57 may beautomatically updated upon completion of the call, automatically updatedupon completion of the call session, or updated upon approval of theoperator, for example.

If additional inquiries are to be made of the callee by the system,hardware/software interface 50 continues with the recorded message(s) tobe provided to the callee. Once all messages and responses to inquiriesare received, hardware/software interface 50 provides a sign-offmessage, such as, "Thank you for your time," and disconnectstelecommunications with that callee.

It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that othertelecommunications features may be incorporated into the automated phonecalling system of the present invention. For example, the system may beinstructed to retry communication with a callee who did not answerwithin a specified number of rings. Further, a time increment may beestablished for retrying to contact that callee. It is also possiblethat the queuing of calls over telecommunications interfaces 53-56 maybe prioritized.

It will also be appreciated that numerous data fields may be stored indatabase 57 to accommodate the provision of messages. As described abovewherein the priority of the Numbered List(s) and/or Geo Zone(s) to becalled may be prioritized, each record of database 57 may also include adata field which indicates individual priorities for callees. Forexample, perhaps all hospitals, schools, and other institutions are tobe contacted first in the event of a emergency, such as a chemicalspill, in the area. Various telecommunications features and optionaldatabase fields are contemplated to be within the scope of theinvention.

Future calls made by the automated phone calling system of the presentinvention will therefore be impacted by the information stored indatabase 57. Depending on the particular application of the system, thisfeature may be critical to the success of the system. Individuals andbusinesses alike are often the recipient of unwanted calls such asunwanted telephone solicitation which occurs at all hours of the day andnight. The provision of "control" by the callee may therefore beparticularly advantageous when the system is not employed in what mightbe termed a vital public-serving function--one which the public wouldgenerally agree requires that all callees should and must be notified,as in the presence of a tornado, for example.

Several types of data fields may be used to impact future calls receivedby a callee. As mentioned above, one or more data fields in database 57may be used to designate appropriate calling times for each callee. Inaddition, if the automated phone calling system of the present inventionis to be used to provide a plurality of message types to callees, a datafield may be utilized to indicate whether the callee is to receive aparticular message. For example, if the system of the present inventionis employed by a law enforcement agency to alert its public aboutsuspected or actual crime in the callee's geographical area, certaincallees may only be interested in receiving certain types of messages.For example, a callee having young children may wish to be apprised of apattern of stolen children's bicycles whereas an older individual or acallee having no children may not wish to be notified of suchinformation. The interactive capability of the automated phone callingsystem of the present invention gives the callee control over thereceipt of such calls.

Upon installation of the system, it may be desirable to communicate withall potential callees to allow each callee to configure the system forthat callee for all future calls. Such configuration may include callingtimes, the invocation of a password so that the callee is certain that aparticular individuals or set of individuals receive messages from thesystem (a callee may desire such a feature to prevent messages frombeing heard or intercepted by children, for example), or limiting thetypes of messages the callee will receive.

A calling session to multiple callees may be interrupted by the operatoror may terminate when a sufficient number of attempts to each callee hasbeen made. In either case, temporary file 58 may include fieldscontaining TOUCH TONE keypad responses of callees to whom calls weresuccessfully placed. This information may be used to update criteria forcallees in the database. In particular, when the Change Criteria optionis selected from the Geo/List menu of FIG. 2, the Change Criteria as aresult of a Calling Session screen of FIG. 44 is displayed. In thisembodiment, one of 10 different touch tone responses may have beendepressed by callees. The user may, for each response, tab to the #column and enter one of the callee database criteria (one of 39 in oneembodiment). The system will display the criteria description associatedwith the criteria in the Description column, as shown in FIG. 45. Theoperator may then tab to the New Value column and specify a New Valuefor the criteria if the callee depressed the specified response key. Forexample, in FIG. 45, the operator has specified that if response 1 wasdepressed, that criteria 3 (neighborhood watch) should be changed to a"*", and if response 3 was depressed, that criteria 1 (business) shouldbe changed to "S."

After the calling session on which the updates will be based has beenselected, F1 may be depressed to allow the operator to enter theresponses. (This may be necessary, for example, because differentcalling sessions may be implemented with the system.) The desiredcalling session is selected by depressing the F1 key as shown in FIG.46. The system will then return to the prior screen, FIG. 45, whereuponthe operator may depress the F2 key to save the changes. Becauseupdating the criteria will result in permanent changes to database 57, awarning message is displayed as shown in FIG. 47 giving the operator anopportunity to reconsider. By pressing enter, the system updatesdatabase 57 by replacing the specified criteria fields with theindicated values. As shown in FIG. 48, during this process, the screenmay display a running count of the number of records read from thetemporary file and the number of database records updated by the system.Using the procedures described above in the discussion of FIG. 27, theupdated criteria may then be used to select callees for future automatedcalls.

Public Notification of Sex-Offender Information

As previously stated, sex-offenders, and perhaps other criminals, suchas convicted felons, are required to register their residence with a lawenforcement agency and/or government authority. The system presented inFIG. 1 and described hereinabove can be used to notify interestedpersons of offenders residing within a geographical area of interest tothat person.

FIGS. 51 and 52 show flow charts of embodiments of the method of publicnotification according to the present invention. As is explained ingreater detail herein various alternative methods may be used toinitiate and/or modify the data field(s) associated with the receipt ofsex-offender (or any registered criminal) information from the system.

Referring now to FIG. 51, in the method beginning with step 100, thesystem has initiated the data field(s) for all callees. Such initiationmay be desirable after installation of the system into a new area. Forexample, the system may indicate all callees input into the system areto be initially called to ascertain each callee's interest in receivingsex-offender information.

Based on the selection criteria as discussed hereinabove (which mayinclude a selection based on data originally supplied by a callee),including but not limited to a Geo Zone, callees are selected in step101 for notification. The system then initiates calls to each of thecallees in step 102. For each callee, the system determines whether ornot the callee answers in step 103. If there is no answer, the "retry"algorithm represented in step 104 is executed prior to retrying toinitiate a call to the non-answering callee.

If an answer is detected in step 103, a pre-recorded message (recordedand selected as described hereinabove) is played in step 105 asking thecallee if the callee is interested in receiving sex-offenderinformation. The response of the callee (such as by key pad depression)is recorded in the database 57 (or temporary file 58) for the record ofthe callee in step 106.

If the callee's response as determined in step 107 is equivalent to"No", indicating that the callee does not wish to receive suchinformation, the system plays a pre-recorded sign-off "Thank-You"message in step 108, hangs up its connection with the callee in step109, and ends at step 110. Of course, it will be appreciated that endstep 110 is the end of interaction with only that particular callee. Thesystem concurrently and successively continues to initiate calls toother callees in the selected list in step 102 until the list ofselected callees is complete.

If it is determined in step 107 that the callee wishes to receiveinformation regarding sex-offenders, a message is played to the calleein step 111 to ask the callee to input the callee's geographical area ofinterest. The message played in step 111 may also inform the callee ofthe already established area in that callee's database record.

The selection of geographic area may be based on numerous criteria asdiscussed herein, and may also be based on a radius--such as a radius ofX blocks or Y miles about the callee's residence, and such radius may bedesignated by appropriate key pad entries. Alternatively, the areaselected could be about a point other than the callee's residence, suchas a school attended by the callee's children. This could be designated,for example, by entering the school's zip code via the key pad, or, bydividing a geographic area into zones, e.g., enter 1 for downtown, 2 fornorthwest side of town, 3 for north side of town, etc. Also, it isconceivable that more than one geographical area of interest could beestablished for the callee. For each of these various options, themessage played in step 111 is tailored to the system options madeavailable and as represented by the number and type of data fields madeavailable for each callee.

In step 112, the system awaits a response from the callee. Once aresponse (or responses) are received, the response(s) is(are) recordedin database 57 (or temporary file 58) in step 113. These responses maybe recorded via a data field which may be subsequently used to select asubset of callees for a later call.

At this point, if the system is only being used to acquire responsesfrom callees (such as before any sex-offender information is availablein the system), the system proceeds to step 114 to play a message to thecallee informing the callee that the callee will be called in the eventthat information is available about a sex-offender in the selectedgeographical area. Then, a sign-off message is played in step 108 andthe connection to the callee is terminated in step 109.

If the system contains information about sex-offenders, the systemproceeds to step 115 to search sex-offender database 60 (see FIG. 53)for pertinent data, i.e., information about offenders residing in,moving into, and/or moving out of the selected geographical area. Asshown in FIG. 53, offender database 60 is bi-directionally connected tohardware/software interface 50 to permit hardware/software interface 50to retrieve offender information. In addition, offender information maybe entered into the system by user input and display 51 working withhardware/software interface 50, or by other means well known in the art.

Returning now to FIG. 51, after hardware/software interface 50 searchesfor pertinent offender data in offender database 60, if pertinent datais found in step 116, the system plays one or more messages conveyingthat information to the callee in step 117. The message may compriseeither a pre-recorded voice message pertaining to the particularoffender, or, may comprise an automated text-to-voice translation ofdigitized words from a database. If no pertinent data is found in step116, the callee is informed about future messages in step 114. Likewise,if pertinent data is found in step 116 and conveyed to the callee instep 117, the callee is informed about future calls in step 114.

In an alternate embodiment of the public notification system accordingto the present invention, a person may call into the system rather than,or in addition to, the system making the call to the callee. Thisalternative method is illustrated in steps 118, 119, and 120 of FIG. 51.In step 118, a person dials the system. In step 119, the systemrecognizes the receipt of a call. Then, in step 120, the callee iseither identified (such as by caller-id, for example) or asked toregister if the callee cannot be automatically identified. The callee'sphone number will in step 120 be compared to those in database 57. Ifthe callee's phone number is not found in database 57, a dialog wouldneed to ensue to acquire the necessary information about the callee toestablish a database record for the callee. Then, beginning with step105, the system can continue to allow the callee to establish thecalling parameters for that callee for present and future calls withinformation about sex-offenders.

It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that some systeminstallations may not need to consider a preferred geographical areawith respect to sex-offender information. For example, in small ruralcommunities, it may be reasonable to assume that all callees interestedin receiving sex-offender information want the information for theentire geographical area of the town. Under such circumstances, steps111, 112, 113, 115 and 116 would not need to be executed.

Referring now to FIG. 52, there is shown a second embodiment of themethod of public notification for sex-offender information. In thisembodiment, sex-offender data already resides in offender database 60.Step 130 may be the initial start up of the system in which defaultparameters for sex-offender information have been established for allcallees in database 57, or may be executed after the parameters areinitialized or modified in accordance with the method of FIG. 51.

In step 131, the system checks for the entry or modification of data inoffender database 60. Such determination may be under the control ofhardware/software interface 50 if hardware/software interface is usedfor entry or modification, may be examined by hardware/softwareinterface 50 if entry and modification is achieved without involvementof hardware/software interface 50, or may be manually invoked by anoperator using user input and display 51.

In step 132, if the system determines that an entry or modification hasbeen made to sex-offender database 60, callees are selected in step 133.The selection of callees in step 133 is based on the parameters for eachcallee, such as a flag for whether such information is to be received atall, and/or geographic area.

The system initiates calls to the selected callees in step 134. If noanswer is detected from a particular callee in step 135, the systemexecutes its retry algorithm in step 136. If the callee answers, amessage relevant to the entry or modification detected in step 132 isplayed to the callee in step 137.

Once the pre-recorded message of step 137 is played, the system maysimply thank the callee in step 141, hang up in step 142, and continuemonitoring for additional entries or modifications to offender database60. Alternatively, the callee may be given the option to control futurecalls received from the system with regard to offender information.

In step 138, the system plays a message to inquire whether the calleewishes to receive such calls. The prompted response of the callee isrecorded in step 139. If the recorded response is "No", a sign-offmessage is played in step 141 and the connection to the callee isdisconnected in step 142. If the callee wants to receive such calls, instep 143 the system inquires as to whether the callee wishes to maintainthe same geographical area. If it is determined in step 144 that a newgeographical area is desired, the system prompts the callee and recordsresponses to change the geographical area in step 145.

As was true with regard to the method of FIG. 51, geographical area maynot be an appropriate parameter for all instances. Also, other criteriaassociated with the callee, such as time of day may be used. Further, itis possible that a callee may wish to password protect messagesregarding sex-offenders to preclude children from receiving suchinformation directly.

It will also be appreciated that steps 102 through 117 of FIG. 51, andsteps 134 through 145 of FIG. 52 are executed for each of the calleesselected in step 101 (FIG. 51) or step 133 (FIG. 52). For illustrativepurposes, the concurrent and subsequent calling of all selected calleesis not shown in FIGS. 51 and 52.

It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that a system thatdoes not require operator intervention to update a database criteriafield based on a user's TOUCH TONE keypad response is also within thescope and spirit of the invention. Further, the system may be designedto record multiple TOUCH TONE keypad responses of a callee and recordthem in the temporary file for updated multiple callee criteria in thedatabase. The term "dial code" as used herein and in the claims isintended to refer to both TOUCH TONE (DTMF, or dual tone multiplefrequency) and rotary pulse codes, as well as vocal responsesinterpreted by voice recognition or equivalent systems, such as systemsthat understand simple spoken words, such as "yes," "no," and thenumbers zero through nine, and translate such spoken words into datavalues usable by the invention. Of course, those of skill in the art mayutilize any number of software environments to implement the invention,including WINDOWS 95®.

What is claimed is:
 1. A public notification system for placing outgoingphone calls, comprising:a first database comprising a plurality of phonenumbers and one or more data fields associated with each of theplurality of phone numbers; means for selecting a subset of phonenumbers from the plurality of phone numbers of the first database basedon the selection of at least one of the data fields associated with atleast one of the plurality of phone numbers; means for recording a voicemessage to be transmitted over at least one outgoing phone line; meansfor connecting to the at least one outgoing phone line, the connectionmeans operatively connected to the voice recording means; means forinitiating at least one phone call to a callee via a callee phone numberover the at least one outgoing phone line with the callee's phone numberbeing one of the subset of phone numbers stored in the first database asselected by the selecting means; means for prompting the callee byplaying the voice message recorded with the voice recording means, afterthe outgoing phone call connection has been established, to enter one ofa plurality of different dial codes; means for recording a dial codeentered by the callee; means for automatically updating at least one ofthe data fields in the first database for the callee's phone numberbased on the response dial code, the at least one updated data fieldused by the selecting means for selecting a future subset of phonenumbers, the system thereby providing the callee with the ability tocontrol future phone calls initiated by the system to the callee's phonenumber; a second database comprising at least one record identifying aconvicted criminal, each record comprising one or more data fieldsassociated with the convicted criminal record; and means for retrievingone or more records from the second database based on at least one ofthe data fields in the first database.
 2. The system of claim 1 whereinat least one of the data fields for each of the plurality of phonenumbers of the first database comprises a field indicative of whetherthe callee is to receive public notification regarding convictedcriminals.
 3. The system of claim 2 wherein at least one of the datafields for each of the plurality of phone numbers of the first databasecomprises a representation of geographic area for notification regardingconvicted criminals.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one ofthe data fields of the convicted criminal record of the second databaseis indicative of the residence of the convicted criminal.
 5. The systemof claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of phone numbers in the firstdatabase has a geographic location associated therewith, and wherein atleast one of the data fields associated with each of the plurality ofphone numbers of the first database comprises a representation of thegeographic location.
 6. The system of claim 5 wherein at least one ofthe data fields for each of the plurality of phone numbers of the firstdatabase comprises a field indicative of whether the callee is toreceive notification regarding convicted criminals and wherein at leastone of the data fields for the at least one record identifying aconvicted criminal is representative of the residence of the convictedcriminal; andmeans for retrieving one or more records from the seconddatabase based on the geographic proximity of the geographic locationrepresented by at least one data field of the first database to theresidence represented by the at least one data field of the convictedcriminal record of the second database.
 7. The system of claim 6,wherein the first database, second database, means for retrieving andmeans for automatically updating reside on a computer system, thecomputer system having a bus, and the connection means comprising aplurality of plug-in phone cards connected to the bus of the computersystem, each card having a means for receiving at least one outgoingphone line.
 8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:means forreceiving incoming phone calls, the receiving means operativelyconnected to the voice recording means, the means for recording, and themeans for automatically updating, such that a caller placing an incomingcall to the system is capable of controlling further phone callsinitiated by the system to one of the plurality of phone numbers.
 9. Amethod for automatically placing outgoing phone calls, comprising thesteps of:providing a first database having a plurality of phone numbersstored therein the first database comprising, for each of the pluralityof phone numbers, at least one data field indicative of whether thecallee is to receive notification regarding convicted criminals; foreach of the plurality of phone numbers in the first database, placing aninitial call to the phone numbers over at least one outgoing phone line;monitoring the at least one outgoing phone line for an answer by acallee to the initial call; playing a first prerecorded message uponreceipt of an answer, the first prerecorded message including a promptfor the callee to enter one of a plurality of dial code responses;recording the dial code response entered by a callee; automaticallyupdating information in the first database for the phone number based onthe dial code response recorded; selecting, based on the updatedinformation in the first database from the automatic updating step andbased on the at least one data field, a subset of phone numbers in thefirst database; and placing a second phone call to each of the phonenumbers in the selected subset of phone numbers.
 10. The method of claim9, further comprising, after the step of recording the dial coderesponse, the steps of:selecting a second pre-recorded message based onthe dial code response, the second pre-recorded message containingnotification information; and playing the second pre-recorded message.11. The method of claim 9, further comprising, after the step ofautomatically updating information, the steps of:selecting a secondpre-recorded message based on the dial code response, the secondpre-recorded message containing notification information; and playingthe second pre-recorded message.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein thesystem further comprises a second database having at least one recordidentifying a convicted criminal, and means for retrieving one or morerecords from the second database, the method further comprising, priorto the step of placing a second phone call, the step of:retrieving fromthe second database one or more records from the second database. 13.The method of claim 9, wherein the system further comprises a seconddatabase comprising a plurality of criminal records identifyingconvicted criminals and a means for retrieving said criminal records,the method further comprising, prior to selecting a subset of phonenumbers, the step of:retrieving one or more criminal records from thesecond database; and wherein the step of selecting a subset of phonenumbers includes making such selection only if one or more criminalrecords have been retrieved from the second database.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein each of the plurality of phone numbers in the firstdatabase has a geographic location associated therewith, wherein atleast one of the data fields for each of the plurality of phone numbersof the first database comprises a representation of the geographiclocation, wherein each record of the second database includes one ormore data fields representative of the residence of the convictedcriminal, and wherein the step of retrieving one or more records fromthe second database is based on the geographic proximity of thegeographic location represented by at least one data field of the firstdatabase to the residence represented by the at least one datafield ofthe second database.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein each of theplurality of phone numbers in the first database includes one or moredata fields representative of geographic area of interest fornotification regarding criminals, and wherein the step of retrieving oneor more records from the second database is further based on acomparison of the geographic area of interest represented in the firstdatabase to the residence represented by the second database.